This one is was a Chieftain request! If you subscribe to Melendy Avenue Review at the Chieftain level, you, too, can request a book for me to review (within reason- needs to be in English, under 100,000 words, sourceable, etc). This one is a novel by Kremlin wire-puller Vladislav Surkov, and it proves that Putin’s goons can be just as pretentious, self-important, and bad at aping culture as any Ivy League or Oxbridge fancylad. Enjoy!
Reading in the Time of Monsters 006 - Surkov, "Almost Zero" or, Russian Elites Write Dumb Books Too
peterberard.substack.com
Reading in the Time of Monsters
The old world is dying; the new one cannot be born; now is the time of monsters. What better time to read, and read seriously? Every pedant on the internet thinks they're a critic because they have cultural preferences and their various streaming and social media services encourage them to state these preferences in little boxes. But some of us think criticism is something more. We know that criticism implies a way of being- a rejection of complacence, a dedication to searching high, low, and in between for insight and perspective, a constant development of the critical toolkit. Not only does that way of being point towards a better existence, but it also makes for criticism that's more fun to read. That's the gambit of this podcast- that there's an audience for something other than same-same mediocrity and parasocial agreement-clubs.
There should be one free episode a month. There will be another for people who become Citizens by subscribing at the Citizen (or Chieftain!) level at Melendy Avenue Review. MAR includes numerous text reviews a month, various life updates and guest posts, cute cat pictures, etc.
The old world is dying; the new one cannot be born; now is the time of monsters. What better time to read, and read seriously? Every pedant on the internet thinks they're a critic because they have cultural preferences and their various streaming and social media services encourage them to state these preferences in little boxes. But some of us think criticism is something more. We know that criticism implies a way of being- a rejection of complacence, a dedication to searching high, low, and in between for insight and perspective, a constant development of the critical toolkit. Not only does that way of being point towards a better existence, but it also makes for criticism that's more fun to read. That's the gambit of this podcast- that there's an audience for something other than same-same mediocrity and parasocial agreement-clubs.
There should be one free episode a month. There will be another for people who become Citizens by subscribing at the Citizen (or Chieftain!) level at Melendy Avenue Review. MAR includes numerous text reviews a month, various life updates and guest posts, cute cat pictures, etc. Listen on
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Reading in the Time of Monsters 006 - Surkov, "Almost Zero" or, Russian Elites Write Dumb Books Too